Youth Attitudes Towards Disability Sport & Assistive Technology

The 2024 Paralympic Games present a unique cultural moment to amplify the voices and stories of persons living with disabilities. To leverage this global event, the Global Disability Innovation Hub partnered with Shujaaz, an Emmy award winning partner based in Kenya to create a comprehensive initiative that explores and highlights the cultural impact of disability beyond the realm of sports. As part of this work Shujaaz collected data from Kenyans aged 18-24 across the country to understand:

• To what extent young Kenyans are aware of, positive about, participating in disabled sports
• To what extent young Kenyans are aware of, positive about, making use of assistive technology.

Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub) is an Academic Research and Practice Centre accelerating disability innovation for a more just world.

AT2030 is a UK Aid-funded programme led by the GDI Hub to test ‘what works’ to improve access to life-changing Assistive Technology (AT) for all.

Shujaaz Inc is a network of social ventures working to break down the barriers preventing young people from taking control of the future.

WaCurious* is a Shujaaz Inc brand that mobilises young people with deep local knowledge, trains them on basic research skills and equips them with the necessary tools to collect data and insights to inform positive community change.

Study context:

To build on its efforts in accelerating disability innovation, GDI Hub seeks to understand the attitudes of 18–24-year-old Kenyans on disability, disability sports and assistive technology. AT2030 funded this study.

Study Objective:

• To understand to what extent young Kenyans are aware of, positive about, participating in disabled sports.

• To understand to what extent young Kenyans are aware of, positive about and making use of assistive technology.

Methodology & Sampling

WaCurious members conducted face-to-face interviews with 18–24-year-olds (referred to in this presentation as “Contributors”) in their neighbourhoods. WaCurious members were trained on the objectives of the study, research ethics and how to collect data digitally. All data collection was monitored closely by WaCurious research experts. Contributors are from 27 counties across Kenya.

Overview of Study Findings

• 70% of contributors are interested in sports. Of those interested in sports, 77% are fans, 43% play, while 7% either coach or are organising sports.
• TV is the leading channel of following sports at 70%, social media is second at 53%. DSTV (a pay-television serving Sub-Saharan Africa) is the most watched TV station (31%) while Radio Jambo is the most listened to radio station (45%) for sports news.
• Of all social media platforms where contributors follow sports, Facebook is the favourite at 45%).
• 47% of contributors followed Paris 2024 Olympic Games. 23% followed the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
• 11% of contributors self-identify as disabled. 16% report having a disabled family member, 41% have a disabled friend and 33% have a disabled person attending their school.
• 45% of contributors have seen a disabled person participating in sport in their community.
  
• Athletics (37%), football (31%) and volleyball (12%) are the sports disabled people are seen participating in. These are the same sports (in the same order) contributors say they would like to follow in Paralympics.
• 96% of contributors respond positively to the idea of having a disabled teammate, opponent or coach
• 42% of contributors report that they are using one form of assistive technology.
• 72% can describe assistive technology correctly as per the WHO definition.
• 26% think they need assistive technology now, while 40% think they will need it in the future.
• Most contributors (86%) are willing to participate in sports with someone using glasses as assistive technology. Willingness to participate with someone using a wheelchair is at 62% and is the least scoring of all the assistive technologies listed.
• The chances of people using assistive technology achieving things in life are rated at: 64% for completing secondary school; 64% for having own family; 63% for getting a college degree and 44% for participating in sports.
• Discrimination, stigma and lack of facilities account for 74% of all reported challenges.
• 92% of all contributors feel it is important for disabled athletes to be supported to participate in professional-level sports. The identified support includes financial support (29%), assistive technology (27%) psychological support (12%) and creation of opportunities (12%) among others.